The only gambling hearing for Northwest Florida is Thursday

PANAMA CITY — Panhandle residents get their chance to sound off about gaming’s expansion Thursday when a state Senate panel meets in Pensacola to collect public comment.

Matthew Beaton / The News Herald

PANAMA CITY — Panhandle residents get their chance to sound off about gaming’s expansion Thursday when a state Senate panel meets in Pensacola to collect public comment.

The public hearing marks the third of four being held across the state.

The Legislature plans to address comprehensive gaming legislation in the 2014 session. Results of a $388,845 gaming study commissioned this year have been criticized by lawmakers because it offers no clear path forward.

READ THE STUDY

The study and the public hearings are a two-pronged information-gathering approach, preparing the Senate Committee on Gaming before it drafts a comprehensive bill.

State Senate President Don Gaetz, R-Niceville, has kept a watchful eye on the gaming meetings and hearings mostly from a distance but plans to attend the Pensacola hearing. A staunch gaming opponent, he said he wants to hear from law enforcement, civic leaders and residents on the potential impact of different types of gambling on the region. He said he expects to get a “uniquely Northwest Floridian” perspective.

“I want to be at the Pensacola hearing because I want to really get a flavor for what people in our part of the state are saying and thinking,” he said.

Gaetz said the Panhandle’s position is different than the rest of Florida because of its proximity to Biloxi., Miss., which offers gaming and often draws players from the Panhandle. He said this may lead residents to discuss gambling’s “cross-border impact” at the hearing.

EbroGreyhound Park, which sits just north of Bay County, has a stake in the proceedings, as well. The track would like to install slot machines once the dust settles on the 2014 session. County voters passed a referendum in 2012 to allow slot machines, but the state attorney general prevented their installation. Passing comprehensive legislation could clear a path for their installation.

The track also wants the state to “decouple” — no longer require it to run a certain amount of dog races to operate a card room.

Track president and general manager Stockton Hess was unsure if he’d attend the hearing, but said he would have a representative there. He’s focused on getting slot machines installed. He said Washington County voters “overwhelmingly” approved slots in 2012, and they want their votes counted. (The vote was 57-43.)

“I don’t think they want to be disenfranchised,” he said.

Hess encouraged anyone with a view on gaming and its expansion to attend the hearing and voice an opinion.

“They want to hear from any concerned citizens, whether they favor gaming or not,” he said.

The public hearing will run 1:30-4:30 p.m. at Jean & Paul Amos Performance Studio at 1000 College Blvd. in Pensacola.